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Few Takers Expected For 2.0-Liter Four-Cylinder Turbodiesel Fix

According to published reports this weekend, observers expect few VW turbodiesel owners to opt for vehicle repairs now available. More than likely, the owners will stick with their plans to have VW repurchase their vehicles.

Do you remember the first major class-action settlement in the Dieselgate scandal? The class-action suit settlement offered the owners of 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engines two choices: 1. Volkswagen would buy back the vehicles; 2. Volkswagen could look for an acceptable fix that for customer cars.

Since it appeared until recently that VW didn’t have a fix for more than 300,000 older 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbodiesels, it seemed reasonable to offer buyers buy backs, instead of repairs. Of course, if VW found a fix; then the automaker had the option of asking diesel owners to take the fix.

Most Owners Opted For Repurchase Not Fix

Despite the limited numbers of TDI owners who wanted a repurchase, VW forged ahead. Fully 98 percent of 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel owners signed up for repurchase program whose costs were to be more than $10 billion.

The fix has Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approval. This particular fix is for 50 percent of the 2.0-liter turbodiesels involved in Dieselgate.

Interestingly, VW initially implemented the cheating scandal because turbodiesels tuned for the tightest emissions were far more thirsty than vehicles equipped with and using the cheatware. The vehicles were also poor performers. VW implemented the defeat device defense to enable its products to achieve the best balance between performance and fuel efficiency.

Mileage Of Fixed Cars Will Still Drop Bit Only by 2 MPG

The reason this is of interest now is that the repaired vehicles are, as you might expect, poorer performers, on the order of 2 mpg.

One analysis of this plan suggests there will be few takers because the owners of nearly all the vehicles eligible for the repair have already opted for the buyback. One brighter spot for VW is that it can also repair the vehicles that have been turned in and resell them as it had done with 2015 models that were grounded when Dieselgate broke.